Saquon Barkley rushed for 124 yards to break the Eagles’ single-season record, Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Philadelphia won its ninth straight game 22-16 over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The Eagles (11-2) maintained their position as the No. 2 team in the NFC, behind Detroit (12-1), after a mostly lethargic effort against the Panthers (3-10).
Barkley added another milestone his MVP push when he used a 9-yard run to top in the fourth quarter LeSean McCoys Eagles record of 1,607 yards, set in 2013. Barkley now has 1,623 yards with four games remaining.
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Hurts’ passing numbers were a pedestrian 14 of 21 for 108 yards. He hit Grant Calcaterra on a four-yard TD pass and Barkley ran in the 2-point conversion for a 22-16 lead early in the fourth.
Bryce Young bravely moved the Panthers into Eagles territory on the final drive. He completed a 13-yard pass on fourth down that took the ball to the 38, and a second-down pass to Xavier Legette gave the Eagles a brief scare when the receiver appeared to have the ball in the end zone.
He didn’t. Young dodged a pass rush on fourth down, but his final attempt was incomplete. He finished 19 of 34 for 191 yards.
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Panthers were a 12 1/2-point underdog and played more like a team with playoff seeding on the line.
Chuba Hubbard, who topped 1,000 yards rushing on the season, made it 16-14 in the third quarter on a 1-yard run. Eddy Pineiro, who made a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter, missed the extra point.
Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was previously examined for a concussion, changed the game late in the second quarter when he picked off Young’s deep pass at Philadelphia’s 41. Hurts scrambled 15 yards on the next drive and finished it off with a 4-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith for a 14-10 lead.
Gardner-Johnson’s pick saved an lopsided effort by the Eagles.
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For the thirteenth time this season they failed to score on their opening drive, but the attacking outbursts that usually follow failed to materialize. Hurts scored on a short burst early in the second quarter, his 13th rushing score of the season, for a 7-3 lead.
With nothing to lose, the Panthers went for it on fourth-and-3, and Young hit Tommy Tremble for a three-yard TD and a 10-7 lead.
Injuries
Panthers kickoff and punt returner Raheem Blackshear suffered a pectoral injury. RB Jonathon Brooks left with a right knee injury – the same knee in which he tore the ACL with Texas last year. The Panthers had been very cautious about bringing the second-round pick. CB Jaycee Horn hurt his groin.
Next
Panthers: Host Dallas next Sunday.
Eagles: Host Pittsburgh next Sunday.
CBS News Philadelphia staff
